


didn't mean to fall in love

by Labradoodles_and_Muffins



Series: this house is not a home (but it could be) [3]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, and romances, but i got tired and lost all my drafts, oh god i am so bad at writing guys, so now it's a nice short romance fic, this was supposed to be a nice long romance fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-10
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-04-20 02:51:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4770728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Labradoodles_and_Muffins/pseuds/Labradoodles_and_Muffins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was an innocent gesture by intention. The shelf was tall, she was not, and he was just keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn’t get hurt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. everything starts somewhere

**Author's Note:**

> As an aroace author who's never written romance before I cannot promise this will go well. Tips would be appreciated (plz send help).

It was an innocent gesture by intention. The shelf was tall, she was not, and he was just keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn’t get hurt. No one wanted the Herald of Andraste getting defeated by a shelf-induced head injury.

 

She jumps to grab something and as she comes back down the angle of the sun through the tavern window shifts. It catches on her hair and jewelry and _shines_. He feels himself go cross-eyed and blasphemously wonders if Andraste herself was ever so beautiful. It only lasts a second but he feels like he’ll remember it forever. The light fuzzes around her while she shines crystal clear and for the first time he finds himself really convinced that she’s divinely blessed.

 

The moment passes and he shifts his gaze back to his drink before she notices him looking. He feels disoriented. He knew he’d been harbouring a crush on her but this was...something else. Krem feels eyes on him and looks up, seeing Bull’s sharp eyes and knowing that the Chief is perfectly aware of what just happened. His ears heat up and he scowls defensively. Bull just grins and goes to get them new drinks.

 

In his absence Krem lets his head fall onto the table. The situation was bad enough but now the Chief knows, he’s going to meddle. He doesn’t think the Chief would be insensitive about it but he’d been hoping for no meddling at all, sensitive or not. No one knows for sure what Ana’s history was like but Krem has made a few private guesses and all roads lead somewhere bad. If these feelings were to go anywhere he wants it to be because she decided she was okay with that, without outside influence. He gets the feeling she wasn’t used to getting a choice in things. She makes decisions like she’s prepared to fight for each one.

 

But maybe he’s being too hard on the Chief. If he’s noticed all that about Ana then it’s a guarantee that the Chief has too. For all that the Qunari aren’t big on ‘choices’ Krem knows that the Chief is different. It helps that he’s no longer sure who would win in a fight between the Chief and Ana. Before Skyhold he’d have confidently put his money on the Chief but, after what happened to Haven, Ana’s changed. In Haven he could see the training grounds easily and in Skyhold he’s maybe made a habit of being around when Ana’s training. She attacks where she used to hesitate, is confident in her magic in a way she wasn’t. The Chief keeps making jokes about him ‘being attracted to women who could kick his ass’ Krem wouldn’t mind it if the Chief would stop _announcing it when Ana’s around_.

 

A fresh tankard drops in front of him and Krem grunts from where his head is still pressed to the table. “You’re gonna get splinters again.” Krem grunts again. Fuck the splinters, he has more immediate problems, like feelings. Feelings for an internationally recognised figure believed to be the frigging Herald of Andraste.

 

Maker, he is so _screwed._


	2. friendly suggestions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The idea of Ana as a Charger, becoming a part of their family, makes something warm flare in his chest.

He hears the furious yelling before he can pick out the words and he’s on his feet in an instant. He’s up the stairs and almost to the Chief’s room before he identifies the voice, Ana, the words, creatively threatening, and the tone, horrified.

 

He hesitates. She sounds both humiliated and royally pissed off. Walking in on either doesn’t seem like a good idea; she wouldn’t want anyone to see the first and he’s seen how magic reacts to emotions. His armour is metal and she’s a lightning mage; those are not two things he really wants in the same room. It's just bad tactics. 

 

The decision is made for him as she steams out of the room. She catches sight of him and halts, her face flushing. The colour looks pretty on her.

 

“I- Uh- H-How much of that did you hear?”

 

“Somewhere around ‘using his horns as a lightning conductor’.” He’d thought that was a pretty good line actually.

 

The fear falls off her and he’d swear he heard ‘thank the maker’ in her heavy exhalation. He’s about to ask a pointed question or two about _why_ she was threatening the Chief - feelings for her or not, his loyalty lay with Iron Bull - when the man in question sauntered out from his quarters. Bull looked between the two and, from where Ana couldn’t see him, put on the most shit-eating grin Krem had ever seen and shot him a thumbs up.

 

Krem turned a violent shade of red. Ana frowned and turned around to see a now-innocent looking Qunari behind her. The Chief waggled his eyebrows at her and she turned as red as Krem felt before fleeing down the stairs.

 

“So much for the quiet little mouse she used to be.”

 

The Chief sounds like a proud parent; Krem recognises the tone from the times it’s been applied to the Chargers. He suddenly suspects that the Chief is going to wind up offering Ana a job when this whole ‘saving the world’ business is done. The idea of Ana as a Charger, becoming a part of their _family_ , makes something warm flare in his chest.

 

The Chief claps a hand down on his shoulder and only years of practise keeps Krem from stumbling under the force. The Chief’s face is serious as he looks at where Ana was standing.

 

“You should talk to her. I don’t mean you have to start by asking her out on a date,” he adds, as Krem opens his mouth to protest. “For all the people demanding her attention these days, she’s still lonely.”

 

“He’s right.”

 

Krem jumps at the second voice and suppresses a shiver. There’s nothing exactly wrong with Cole, he seems nice enough, but it’s damned unnerving, that thing he does. It wouldn’t be so bad if he had any grasp on the concept of privacy but Cole has a terrible habit of spilling words into crowded rooms. Krem knows a little something about secrets and wanting to be the only person who gets to decide when they get aired.

 

“But you can’t say any more because she asked us not to.”

 

 

Krem wonders if that statement was just good timing on Cole’s part or if Cole had been in his head. He’s not sure which option he’d prefer. He is glad that Ana’s secrets get to stay her own though. He might be curious but that doesn’t mean he would pry like that.

 

Bull nods solemnly and Krem finds himself flanked by the Chief and Cole. In creepy, creepy unison they say, “But you _should_ talk to her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on tumblr as favouriteblogonthecitadel


	3. tongue tied

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He makes a high pitched noise, like a nug falling down a hill, and tries to get his heart to go back down to his chest from where it had jumped into his throat.

He puts up a fight just long enough to let the Chief know that he doesn’t appreciate being hassled like this. Then he gets down to plotting how to talk to her without making a fool of himself. He absolutely does want to talk to her, and to be her friend, but the inclusion of _feelings_ in the mix has him very concerned about how he looks while doing it.

 

He takes to perching on the top of his chair so that he can see her where she sits, tucked away in a quiet corner near the bar. He is perfectly aware that this might be a little creepy so you can stop telling him, _Dalish_. It’s not like he stares at her non-stop, he just likes being able to see her sometimes and the corner can’t be seen from the Chargers usual table.

 

He does not notice that she didn’t use that corner all that much until he started watching it. He also doesn’t notice that she starts coming to the tavern more after Skinner has a rather enthusiastic conversation with her one evening.

 

A large hurdle in the way of talking to her is how he should address her. Until now he’s always called her ‘Your Worship’ but that isn’t exactly right for a friendly casual conversation. Bull calls her Ana but maybe that’s too personal? They’ve talked before but always about tactics or past jobs the Chargers have taken on. Tatiana is her full first name but he’s only heard nobles or business types call her that, people wanting something from her and not planning on being nice about it. He tries practicing in a mirror but after an hour it isn’t looking good.

 

“Tatiana, I was hoping-” No.

 

“Your Worship-” Definitely not.

 

“Ana, I was wondering if-”

 

“Yes?”

 

He makes a high pitched noise, like a nug falling down a hill, and tries to get his heart to go back down to his chest from where it had jumped into his throat. It served him right for trying to practise in the Chief’s room, which everyone knew Ana used as a shortcut across the battlements. (Except when there was a length of cloth across the door handle. _No one_ went near it when that was there.)

 

“Uh, well, I was wondering if- if-”

 

Her face looks a little sadder with every second he stalls and he panics. Every single thing he knows about actually talking to people in a relatively normal fashion, every (highly questionable) tip from the Chief, flies out of his head.

 

“If you’d like to get a drink. With me. Uh, together?”

 

The sentence runs together, a barely understandable rushed mess. Well now that he’s made a complete mess of things maybe the Chief will take pity on him and hit him with a stick until he forgets this ever happened. If he didn’t know better he’d swear the laughter drifting in from the tavern was _Cole_. He’s just considering slinking away with his tail between his legs when she responds. Sort of.

 

“Well, I- I mean-”

 

“It’s fine, it was a silly idea any-”

 

“Yes!”

 

Her ‘yes’ cuts off his attempt to save face. Ana appears to be shyly trying to make herself smaller but stops when his face lights up. He keeps smiling while they arrange a time, tomorrow evening, and splits into a full-blown grin when she leaves to continue her rounds. He’s still grinning when the Chief wanders in a few minutes later.

 

“Hey Chief? You’re the best.”

 

“Ah, I know I am, Krem de la creme. ...Why?”


	4. drinks date disaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BEEN A HELLUVA YEAR FOLKS but I'm alive and semi-functional so Happy New Year, have an update. I should note that I HC Skyhold as a lot bigger than it was in game (where tf were they keeping all the soldiers????) and also I've made Krem such a DORK and I don't care. He's a beautiful dorky mess and I love him.

It’s very nearly a disaster. There’s not a lot of places to go in Skyhold and Ana’s too busy holding the Inquisition together for them to leave so they end up at the Herald’s Rest. Aside from not really being a break from the usual routine this has an added problem; Skyhold is full of nosy gossips who want nothing more than to spy on the Inquisitor and her ‘date’. Every single person in the tavern is eavesdropping and both Krem and Ana are acutely aware of the fact.

The conversation is stilted and mostly focused on work topics. Where Ana’s planning on heading next, what the Chargers have been up to lately. He’s thrilled to be spending time with her but it doesn’t really feel any different than usual. Well, that’s not strictly true. It’s _definitely_ more awkward. The feeling is not helped by the fact that he can feel Rocky’s eyes burning a hole in his back from the upper balcony and Krem can only imagine the ribbing he’s going to get after this.

He finishes his drink and contemplates conceding defeat, apologising, and going to find a hole to crawl into for the foreseeable future. He gets as far as opening his mouth when she leans across the table and catches his hand and wow was it always this warm in here? Something sparks in her eyes as she grins at him and he has to restrain himself from kissing her then and there.

“Come with me, I have a plan.”

She stands and leads him out, still holding his hand, and he follows docilely as his world shrinks down to her and him and the fact that _she’s holding his hand_. He kind of wants to giggle. He does not giggle. It’s a close call.

Behind them comes the faint sound of a scuffle as the rest of the Chargers bodily block anyone else from leaving the tavern and following them. For all their inevitable teasing, they’ve got Krem’s back in a fight and out and know when it’s time to back off. He’s going to owe them drinks for a year and it’s a debt he’ll be glad to pay.

They escape across the courtyard and weave through the fortress until they’re in the garden. It’s rarely empty even at this time of night but the usual inhabitants had migrated to the tavern this evening so the pair have the place to themselves for once. They meander through the garden in silence but the awkward feeling has evaporated, like they left it in tavern along with the snoops.

Glancing at Ana from the corner of his eye he takes a chance, feeling so nervous you’d almost think he’d never been within 5 feet of an attractive woman before, and laces their fingers together.

There’s the flicker of hesitation and then she relaxes. In the light of the moon he sees a small yet genuine smile curl up her lips and a faint blush dust across her cheeks as she watches the stars. A matching smile forms on his face as he takes pleasure in just watching her.

Yes, it’s very nearly a disaster. But only nearly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is...kind of finished now? I'm not marking it done yet because I'm not sure. We'll see how it goes???
> 
> catch me on tumblr at favouritequeeronthecitadel


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